I’m surprised we’re managing to get a post out this week, due to the bevy of preparation each of us is faced with. Nikhil is unable to remove his nose from his scholarly texts, Fred is also busy studying, as well as seeing his brother off to Montreal and I am suitcase packing for a brief weekend trip to the US. An objective observer might say that I am in the best position to provide the Hawt’s lovely readership with some fresh tunes, but I know that this is the case. As in ‘yes,’ I am the one with the least going on, the most free time. In fact, my suitcase is already packed and I’ve been watching Jeopardy for the past half-hour, brazenly judging the show’s writers because every answer in the “Today’s Music” category was either Jessie J or Miley Cyrus. The sad part is, I aced the category, amassing more cash than a student from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, but I digress. Here are this week’s musical finds.

Yay for poor quality image editing!

     Dubstep pioneer Benga released his third studio album last week. My favorite cut from “Chapter II” is a collaboration with Kano called “Forefather.” You’ve almost certainly heard of it already since it’s been out as a single for over 2 months, but here it is again, because it’s just that good. Additionally, the album is available to be streamed for free here.

     I’ve already presented you Chris Malinchak, Isaac Tichauer and Jonas Rathsman. Moon Boots is also a ‘protector of the feel good’ and he’s proved that in the past with his fantastic remixes of Alison Valentine’s “Peanut Butter” and Bondax’s “Gold.” On Monday, he struck aurum once again with the release of “Love Strong” on French Express. As always with this label, the song is 100% free of charge, so go ahead and download that sucker.

     Not that it matters in the slightest, but it’s sometimes pleasant to have your taste in music validated. About 3 months ago, I heard Jeremy Olander’s remix of 16 Bit Lolitas’ “Chant a Tune” for the first time and kept it quiet because I had been posting lots of Prydz/Fehrplay/Olander. Last week, Above & Beyond played it on Group Therapy and it blew up online. Set for release on Bits & Pieces this Monday, here is the wonderful progressive house piece in all it’s glory.

     We’ve mentioned this next guy a few times because he’s an extremely promising up and comer, because he’s a local talent and because he’s a friend of the blog. Recently signed to Gareth Emery’s Garuda, Montreal native Rob Naylor will officially release his first track as part of the 3rd instalment of the ‘Sound of Garuda’ series. To welcome the compilation, some of the artists featured on it participated in a digital release party last night. Rob being one of the lucky few, he played a set live on Mixify that I am now going to redirect you to below. Check out the full mix here, or the preview for the ‘Sound of Garuda 3’ here.     

     Lastly, here’s this week’s video. In honor of Chris Hadfield’s return to Earth from the International Space Station, his version of David Bowie’s “Space Oddity.” FROM SPACE.

     Have a great weekend!